How the Amount of Time Spent on Independent Reading Affects Reading Achievement: A Response to the National Reading Panel

S. Jay Samuels Yi-Chen Wu

Department of Educational Psychology University of Minnesota

This research was supported by a grant from Renaissance Learning Corporation.

Dr. (S)tanley Jay Samuels Department of Educational Psychology College of Education University of Minnesota Minneapolis, MN 55455 University Phone 612 625 5586 Fax 612-624 8241 e-mail: samue001@umn.edu Phone Dr. Yi-Chen Wu Office of Educational Accountability Department of Educational Psychology University of Minnesota 1313 5th St. SE Room 108 Minneapolis, MN 55414 Tel: 612-203-7933 e-mail: wuxx0207@umn.edu

Effect of Time Spent on Independent Reading

Running head: EFFECT OF TIME SPENT ON INDEPENDENT READING

How the Amount of Time Spent on Independent Reading Affects Reading Achievement: A Response to the National Reading Panel

Effect of Time Spent on Independent Reading

Abstract Although there is correlational evidence showing that students who read more have higher achievement, the National Reading Panel stated there was no experimental study showing practice effects of how time spent reading affects achievement. To provide experimental evidence that more time spent reading produces higher achievement, this study tested the effects of allowing more versus less time for independent reading for students who differed in reading ability. The control group spent 15 minutes per day reading books and the experimental group spent 40 minutes per day reading books. Data analysis found that more time spent reading had a significant effect on achievement compared to a control condition. In addition, results found that poor readers showed significantly greater gain in word recognition and vocabulary than good readers. Furthermore, the results showed that poor readers had greater gains in vocabulary with 15 minutes of reading, but good readers had better gains on reading comprehension with 40 minutes of reading.

Effect of Time Spent on Independent Reading

How the Amount of Time Spent on Independent Reading Affects Reading Achievement: A Response to the National Reading Panel While most educators believe that students who read more are better readers; the National Reading Panel (NRP) report questioned this assumption. Their summary report states,
With regard to the efficacy of having students engage in independent silent reading with minimal guidance or feedback, the Panel was unable to find a positive relationship between programs and instruction that encourage large amounts of independent reading and improvements in reading achievement, including fluency. In other words, even though encouraging students to read more is intuitively appealing, there is still not sufficient research evidence obtained from studies of high methodological quality to support the idea that such efforts reliably increase how much students read or that such programs result in improved reading skills. Given the extensive use of these techniques, it is important that such research be conducted. (p. 12-13 Report of the National Reading Panel, Summary Report, December, 2000)

Specifically, the Panel was calling for experimental studies in which one could determine cause and effect to settle the question as to whether time spent in independent reading resulted in reading achievement gains. Marrietta Castle (2002) pointed out, that from the experimental evidence the Panel could neither confirm nor deny the possibility that programs that increase the amount of independent reading will also increase reading achievement (p.243). What is needed to solve the dilemma is experimental studies showing cause and effect. NRPs report consisted of 14 studies and analyzed these studies using metaanalysis. It concluded that it is hard to find clear evidence to support the idea that reading more benefits students reading achievement. Following the NRPs report, Marta Lewis

Effect of Time Spent on Independent Reading (2001) completed a doctoral dissertation using meta-analytical procedures to explore the

relationship between reading time and reading outcomes. She found a moderately strong, positive, relationship between reading exposure and reading outcomes. In addition, she used a separate analysis of d-index effect sizes from experimental studies that provided clear causal evidence showing that students who have in-school independent reading time in addition to regular reading instruction, do significantly better on measures of reading achievement compared to students who were not provided time for independent reading. Because the NRPs report and Mata Lewis analysis came to somewhat different conclusions, further studies are needed to investigate how the amount of time spent on reading affects students reading achievement. From the perspective of educational pedagogy, the issue regarding the relationship between the amount of time spent reading and reading achievement is important for reading instruction because of the pervasive belief among educators that practice improves reading skills. Furthermore, models of learning stress time-on-task, as an important factor in what and how much is learned, and they posit a linear relationship between practice time and learning, at least up to some asymptotic amount of time. Thus, from the theoretical perspective, Carrolls model of school learning and time suggested that a learner will succeed in learning a given task to the extent that he spends the amount of time that he needs to learn the task (1963, p. 725). Therefore, the main purpose of this study was to investigate whether more time spent reading leads to improved reading achievement. Related Research

Effect of Time Spent on Independent Reading Taylor, Frye, and Maruyuma (1990) found high correlations between the amount of independent reading time and students reading achievement scores. Using a very

different approach, Stanovich, West, Cunnigham, Cipielewski, and Siddiqui (1996) found that students who had low scores on the Author Recognition Questionnaire also tended to have lower comprehension scores. Conversely, students who had higher recognition scores also showed a higher level of comprehension performance. The implication is that if students read a lot, their reading comprehension performance is better. Also, Anderson, Willson, and Fielding (1988) found that, for second graders, the number of books that students read is the best predictor for reading comprehension, vocabulary, and reading speed. These correlational studies showed clearly that amount of reading that a student had engaged in was a good predictor of reading performance, but they all suffered from the same problem, namely that one cannot determine cause and effect. Correlational studies are difficult to interpret because the directionality can go both ways. It is entirely possible that good readers read more because they enjoy it, so they read more. One could argue that it was not the amount of reading that made them good readers, but they started out with this advantage. That is, the amount of reading has little to do with making one into a good reader. Krashen (2002) also indicated that several correlational studies control for prior reading ability and they provide strong evidence that recreational reading is a cause of literacy development. One experimental study came to light which tested the effects of adding additional independent reading time to the reading program (Peters, 1999). Peters doctoral dissertation study failed to find significant differences between the experimental

Effect of Time Spent on Independent Reading

treatment group that received extra reading time and control groups which did not. What is not clear in this report is how long the study was conducted and that the finding represented a type II experimental error. In the literature, some non-experimental studies showed a positive relationship between time spent reading and reading achievement. For example, Cardinale (1989) found that students time-on-task and academic achievement were positively correlated. The purpose of the present study was to test the effects of allowing more versus less time for independent reading for students who differed in reading ability. Specifically, we examined the effect of how different amounts of time spent on reading might influence reading outcomes, such as vocabulary, comprehension, and reading speed. In addition, we wanted to know whether the effect of time spent on reading was affected by reading ability. Finally, we wanted to know whether the effect of time spent on reading differed by grade level. Method Design The research design contained three factors. The first factor was treatment, the second factor was grade level, and the third factor was reading ability. This study used a 2 (15-minute vs. 40-minute) 2 (grade 3 vs. grade 5) 2 (below grade level vs. above grade level) quasi-experimental design to estimate how the amount of the time spent reading affects reading achievement. Student reading ability was divided into two categories, below or above grade level, based on student scores on the Standardized Test of Assessment of Reading (STAR Reading) test.

Effect of Time Spent on Independent Reading In this study the students were not randomly assigned to treatment condition (15 minutes vs. 40 minutes) by the researchers because the teachers had distributed students to classrooms with the goal of having achievement balance in all the classrooms. The goal of the teachers in distributing students was to have each classroom with similar levels of reading achievement. What the researchers did was to randomly assign conditions to classrooms. Each treatment condition had two classrooms. All four teachers in this study were experienced, averaging 22.5 years of experience. The least experienced had ten years of service and the most experienced had 29 years. Participants Seventy-two students participated in this study. Thirty-five students were assigned to the 15-minute condition and 37 students were assigned to the 40-minute

condition. The number of participants for each cell is shown in Table 1 and the marginal information is shown in Table 2. This study was conducted in a k-6 St. Paul, Minnesota elementary school with 532 students. Sixty-four percent of the students at this school received free or reduced priced lunch compared to the state average of 28%. Ethnicity of the school consisted of 43% White, 33% Asian (Hmong), 15% African-American, and 9% Hispanic. All the third and fifth graders enrolled in Minnesota public schools take the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment (MCA) examination in reading to determine achievement. Comparing reading achievement in the school where this study was done to the rest of the state, the results of MCA reading showed that the students in the school lagged considerably behind the rest of the state, and that the poverty level, as indicated by the number of free lunches, is considerably higher than the rest of the state. Materials

Effect of Time Spent on Independent Reading The Standardized Test of Assessment of Reading (STAR Reading). Students were pre- and post-tested on the STAR Reading Test (Renaissance Learning Inc., 1999).

This is an individually administered, nationally normed computer-adaptive assessment of a students level of reading achievement that takes about ten minutes to complete. For purposes of the research, the STAR Reading test provided an objective measure of each students reading ability and reading level for the reading materials. The split-half reliability of the STAR Reading ranged from .89 to .93. The test-retest reliability of the STAR Reading ranged from .79 to .94. Curriculum Based Measurement (CBM). A CBM task was used as an index to determine the subjects reading speed. Participants read a text for one minute and a correct word per minute rate (WPM) was calculated. The reading passages for measuring CBM were selected from Standard Reading Passages (Children Educational Service, 1987). The grade level readability of the CBM passages students read matched the students reading ability. For example, a student whose reading ability level was grade three which was determined by the STAR reading test read from passages that had a third grade readability. Each student read three different passages to collect the CBM information. The average of WPM from these three passages was used as the CBM score. To avoid the memory recall from reading the same passage again and again, three new passages were used by the end of the study. These three new passages were called transfer passages which had same readability level and text difficulty as the three passages that we used during the study. Accelerated Reader Program. The Accelerated Reader program (Renaissance Learning Inc., 2000) was used for both 15-minute and 40-minute groups to provide the

Effect of Time Spent on Independent Reading immediate feedback after students finished reading a book for independent reading. In this program, after a student has finished reading a library book the student took a short

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quiz on a computer that evaluated how well the student comprehended the book. As soon as the test was completed, the computer provided the score on the comprehension test in percentage and provided the student with the option of getting the correct answer for each question that the student missed. Metropolitan Achievement Test (7th edition, The Psychological Corporation, 1993). The seventh edition (MAT-7) is a norm-referenced series of tests designed to provide achievement data on students in grades K-12. In this study, we used the vocabulary and reading comprehension subtests to collect student reading ability. Woodcock Reading Mastery Test-Revised (Woodcock, 1987). We used the word identification subtest to collect student word recognition ability. The participants score was determined by the number of words correctly read. The split-half reliability correlation is .97. Procedure This study lasted six months. All students in this study had three reading blocksone block had 60minutes, second block had 15 minutes, and the last block had 40 minutesso that all the students in the study had the same amount of time devoted to reading. What was done during each block is listed below. First block (60 minutes). During the first 60 minutes block, teachers in the 15minute and 40-minute groups conducted what may be termed a balanced reading program (Pressley, 1998), where the students were given explicit instruction in word recognition and comprehension skills combined with reading or listening to authentic texts.

Effect of Time Spent on Independent Reading Second block (15 minutes). For the next 15-minute block, teachers in the 15-

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minute and 40-minute groups conducted what is termed a Reading To program. Each day the teacher read good literature to the whole class while the students listened. Discussions were held on various aspects of the book such as its plot, characterization, and emotional reactions of the characters to events in the story. Third block (40 minutes). During the final 40-minute block, the teachers in both 15-minute and 40-minute conditions conducted an Independent Silent Reading (ISR) program. In both conditions, students read selected color-coded books from the library that matched their reading level. The only difference between the two conditions was that the students in the 15-minute condition after completing 15-minute independent silent reading, they listened to the teacher read a book to them for 25 minutes, and the students in 40-minute group did the independent silent reading for 40 minutes. Both groups when completing a book took a computer quiz to test how well they did on reading comprehension. The MAT-7 reading achievement tests and Woodcock-Johnson word recognition test were administered to both the 15-minute and 40-minute groups in the beginning of this study as pre-test measures, and at the end of this study as post-test measures of achievement. In addition, the STAR reading and the CBM tests were administrated to both the 15-minute and 40-minute groups in the beginning of this study (Fall) as pre-test measures, at the middle of the study (Winter), and at the end of this study (Spring) as post-test measures of achievement. The CBM transfer passages were administrated by the end of the study. Results

Effect of Time Spent on Independent Reading Design and Analysis A 2 (Time) 2 (Grade) 2 (Reading level) factorial design was used in this study. Because significant differences were found on pretest scores between the 15-

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minute and 40-minute groups, we used gain scores from pretest to posttest as the unit of analysis. These gain scores were analyzed using a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). Descriptive Statistics Table 1 presents the means and standard deviations of the data from the gain scores taken from the seven dependent measures (STAR gain score between fall and winter, STAR gain score between fall and spring, CBM word per minute gain score between fall and winter, CBM word pre minute gain score between fall and winter, CBM transfer passage in word per minute, MAT vocabulary, MAT gain score on reading scale score, and Woodcock Johnson word recognition gain score) by treatment group, grade, and the reading ability. The MANOVA was used to determine whether there were significant differences in gain scores between conditions, grades, and reading abilities1. Overall Analyses A MANOVA was used to test simultaneously the effects of the independent variables (treatment, group, and reading ability) on the gain scores of seven dependent measures. The results showed one significant interaction between treatment and reading ability and a significant main effect for grade level. Interaction: Treatment by Reading Ability

The information presented in Tables 1 and 2 used below and at or above grade level to present the reading ability, but we used low ability group as below the grade level and high ability group as at or above grade level in the result section to present the result.

Effect of Time Spent on Independent Reading A significant interaction effect between treatment and reading ability was found

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on four dependent measures: gain score on the STAR reading test from fall to winter (F (1, 67) = 6.04, p < .05, 2 = .08, MSE = 6337.78), gain score on the MAT vocabulary (F (1, 67) = 11.21, p < .01, 2 = .14, MSE = 767.72), gain score on the MAT reading scale score (F (1, 67) = 4.52, p < .05, 2 = .06, MSE = 431.55) and gain score on the Woodcock-Johnsons word recognition test (F (1, 67) = 6.92, p < .05, 2 = .09, MSE = 30.71). The mean and SD for each group by each dependent measure are presented in Table 2. To explore the difference between groups, the ANOVA was used to examine the simple effects on treatment and reading ability. Simple effectTreatment. For the group with below grade level reading ability, the ANOVA results showed no significant difference between 15-minute and 40-minute groups. However, for the group with above reading ability, the ANOVA results showed a significant difference between15-minute and 40-minute groups on four dependent measures: gain score on the STAR reading test from fall to winter (F (1, 25) = 19.89, p < .001, 2 = .44, MSE = 5168.34), gain score on the STAR reading test from fall to spring (F (1, 25) =6.07, p < .05, 2 = .20, MSE = 9072.29), gain score on the MAT vocabulary (F (1, 25) = 5.53, p < .05, 2 = .18, MSE = 791.79), and gain score on the WoodcockJohnsons word recognition test (F (1, 25) = 5.55, p < .05, 2 = .18, MSE = 35.49). In terms of effect size, the time spend on reading could explain from 18% to 44% of the variation on these four dependent measures for the group with higher reading ability. The means and standard deviations for each reading ability group on each dependent variable are listed in Table 2. According to the descriptive statistics in Table 2 and the Ftests mentioned above, on the STAR reading test from fall to winter, the 40-minute group

Effect of Time Spent on Independent Reading

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(M = 141.60, SD = 79.27) had a significantly higher gain score than 15-minute group (M = 17.42, SD = 61.23); on the STAR reading test from fall to spring, the 40-minute group (M = 184.80, SD = 87.25) had a significantly higher gain score than 15-minute group (M = 93.92, SD = 104.55); and on the MAT vocabulary the 40-minute group (M = 31.53, SD = 27.09) had a significantly higher gain score than 15-minute group (M = 5.92, SD = 29.41). However, on the Woodcock- Johnsons word recognition test, the 15-minute group (M = 5.83, SD = 4.22) had a significantly higher gain score than 40-minute group (M = .40, SD = 7.03). Simple effectreading ability. The ANOVA results for the 15-minute group showed a significant difference between the group with below grade level reading ability and the group with above grade level reading ability on two dependent measures: score on the CBM transfer passage (F (1, 33) = 7.14, p < .05, 2 = .18, MSE = 1481.57) and gain score on the MAT vocabulary (F (1, 33) = 7.29, p < .05, 2 = .18, MSE = 813.88). According to the descriptive statistics and the F-tests mentioned above, on the CBM speed of reading transfer passage, the high ability group (M = 152.83, SD = 38.67) had a significantly higher score than low ability group (M = 116.20, SD = 38.40). On the MAT vocabulary, however, the low ability group (M = 33.35, SD = 28.08) had a significantly higher gain score than high ability group (M = 5.92, SD = 29.41). In terms of effect size, the reading ability could explain 18% of the variance on the CBM speed of reading transfer passage and the MAT vocabulary for the 15-minute group. The ANOVA results for the 40-minute group showed a significant difference between the group with below grade level reading ability and the group with above grade level reading ability on four dependent measures: gain score on the STAR reading test

Effect of Time Spent on Independent Reading from fall to spring (F (1, 34) = 8.45, p < .01, 2 = .19, MSE = 6404.52), score on the CBM reading speed transfer passage (F (1, 34) = 17.88, p < .001, 2 = .34, MSE = 969.41), gain score on the MAT reading scale score (F (1, 34) = 6.08, p < .05, 2 = .15, MSE = 287.87), gain score on the and gain score on the Woodcock-Johnsons word recognition test (F (1, 34) = 15.34, p < .001, 2 = .31, MSE = 34.38). The means and

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standard deviations for each reading ability group on each dependent variable are listed in Table 2. According to the descriptive statistics listed in Table 2 and the F-tests mentioned above, on the STAR reading test, the high ability group (M = 184.80, SD = 87.25) had a significantly higher gain score than low ability group (M = 106.91, SD = 74.83); on the CBM reading speed transfer passage, the high ability group (M = 158.78, SD = 27.53) had a significantly higher score than low ability group (M = 114.70, SD = 33.32); and on the MAT reading scale score, the high ability group (M = 32.73, SD = 19.26) had a significantly higher gain score than low ability group (M = 18.73, SD = 15.24). However, on the Woodcock-Johnsons word recognition test, the low ability group (M = 8.09, SD = 4.94) had a significantly higher gain score than high ability group (M = .40, SD = 7.03). Main EffectGrade Level Furthermore, a significant main effect for grade level was found on two dependent measures: gain score on the CBM word per minute rate from winter to fall (F (1, 67) = 10.85, p < .01, 2 = .14, MSE = 248.95) and score on the CBM speed of reading transfer passage (F (1, 67) = 27.77, p < .001, 2 = .29, MSE = 873.97). The means and standard deviations for each reading ability group on each dependent variable are listed in Table 2. The third grade (M = 30.01, SD = 16.74) had a significantly higher mean gain

Effect of Time Spent on Independent Reading score on CBM word pre minute from winter to fall than did the fifth grade (M = 16.94,

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SD = 14.84). On the CBM speed of reading transfer passage, the fifth grade (M = 149.89, SD = 33.59) had a significantly higher mean score than did the third grade (M = .109.29, SD = 34.68). Discussion While one might assume that there is universal agreement among educators that the amount of time spent in study and in practice has a positive outcome on student achievement, the National Reading Panel statement regarding the lack of experimental evidence to support this assumption created considerable concern among educators, especially since there is growing demand that educational decisions should be based on research evidence. For example, a decision by a school to increase the amount of time students spend doing independent reading could be called into question because there is no experimental evidence to support this curriculum decision. Hence, one of the major reasons for this study was to test experimentally the hypothesis that more time spent reading leads to increases in achievement. This experimental study investigated several questions that related to time spent reading. First, we examined the effect of how different amounts of time spent reading might influence reading outcomes such as comprehension and word recognition. Second, we wanted to know whether the effect of time spent reading was influenced by the students reading ability. Finally, we wanted to know whether the effect of the amount of time spent reading differed by grade level. We do not have a simple answer regarding the question of how the amount of time spent on reading affects reading achievement because we failed to found a main effect for time (i.e. 15 vs. 40minutes). However, we did find a significant interaction

Effect of Time Spent on Independent Reading between reading ability and time spent reading. Contrary to a general impression that more time spent reading should lead to greater achievement gains for all students, we found instead that for the low ability readers in this study more time did not necessary lead to greater gains. This interaction can be interpreted as that students with different

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reading ability have different reading achievement patterns as a function of the amount of time they spent reading independently. Because there was an interaction between reading ability and time spent reading, we examined the simple effects on time spent reading and reading ability separately. We also found a significant main effect for grade level. With regard to the simple effect of treatment (time spend reading), the results showed that for the low ability students there was no difference between the 40- and 15minute groups on any dependent measures. However, for the higher reading ability group we found that the amount of time spent reading had an important influence on several reading outcomes. For example, in the higher ability group, the students receiving 40-minute of independent reading showed significantly greater gain scores than 15-minute groups on the STAR reading test and MAT vocabulary. However, the higher ability 15-minute group showed a significantly higher gain score than the 40-minute group on the Woodcock-Johnsons word recognition test. One might speculate why the differences in the amount of time spent reading independently had a positive affect for the higher ability student but not for the lower ability students. It is possible that for the lower ability students, even though the books they read were appropriate for their reading ability, independent reading was sufficiently difficult that it affected their attention span. In essence, for the low ability students, 15 minutes of independent reading was appropriate for them, whereas the 40-minute time

Effect of Time Spent on Independent Reading

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slot was too long. Consequently, the added reading time did not do any good for students with low reading ability. In support of this explanation as to why the 15-minute time slot is more advantageous, Felmlee and Eders (1983) study found that students who were in a low-ability group had a short attention span. Also, there is evidence that students who have lower achievement ability cannot maintain attention for as long as their peers who have higher achievement (Soli & Devine, 1976). Thus, for this study, 15-minutes may have been the limit of attention span for the low ability students. In conclusion, one might say that more is not necessary better for this group of below grade level reading ability. With regard to the simple effect of reading ability, the results showed that for the 15-minute groups significant differences in gain scores were found between low and high reading ability groups on the CBM transfer passage as well as on MAT vocabulary. The low ability groups gained significantly more than the high ability groups on MAT vocabulary; however, the high ability groups gained significantly more than the low ability groups on the CBM speed of reading transfer passage. In addition, for the 40minute group, the result showed that significant differences were found between low and high reading ability groups on four measures, these consisting of the STAR reading test, the CBM transfer passage, MAT reading scale score, and the Woodcock Johnsons word recognition test. Whereas the higher ability group had significantly higher gain scores on the STAR reading test, the CBM transfer passage, and the MAT reading scale score, the low ability group gained significantly more than higher ability group on the WoodcockJohnson word recognition test.

Effect of Time Spent on Independent Reading

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One possible explanation for the simple effect on reading ability might be that for the low ability group spending 15 minutes on independent silent reading has a better impact on reading speed and reading comprehension than spending 40 minutes. However, when it comes to improving the word recognition skill for these low ability students, spending more time on independent reading has a better impact than less time. Conversely, for the high ability students in this study spending more time on reading leads to greater gains on their general reading achievement than spending less time. To answer the last question about whether the effect of the amount of time spent reading differed by grade level, we found there was no interaction between grade level and time spent reading. However, different grade levels showed different strengths on different measurements. For example, the third grade had a significantly higher gain score than fifth grade on the CBM speed of reading passage (same passage) from fall to winter; however, the fifth grade had a significantly higher gain score on the CBM speed of reading transfer passage (different passage). One possible explanation is that the younger students have limited vocabulary knowledge, so their reading speed improves when they repeatedly read the same passage. However, the older students, who have more extensive vocabulary than the younger students, do better on the transfer passages where new words appeared, but not on the same passage where no new words appeared. One possible explanation ask to why the older students did not gain significantly on the original passage from pre- to post-test is that there is a ceiling effect on how much older students can improve their reading speed when they orally read the same passage.

Effect of Time Spent on Independent Reading There are several educational implications that may be derived from this study. First, the amount of time devoted to reading has a positive impact on several aspects of reading achievement. For example, both the third and fifth grades showed significant gains in reading speed as a function of time spent on independent reading. Second, the amount of time assigned to independent reading should match students reading ability.

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For example, for students in low reading ability groups, 15 minutes of independent silent reading appears to be more beneficial than 40 minutes for improving skills such as reading speed and comprehension. However, for the same students 40 minutes of independent silent reading seems more optimal than the shorter time period for improving their word recognition skills. For the high ability groups, in general, 40minutes of independent silent reading has the most beneficial effects for developing comprehension skills. Third, different grade levels showed different strength on different measurements. In conclusion, to answer the National Reading Panel report indicating that experimental experience is not available to answer the question about the relationship between time spent on reading and reading outcomes, this experimental study found that time spent reading independently interact with students reading ability and had a positive impact on certain components of reading achievement.

Effect of Time Spent on Independent Reading References American Guidance Service (2001). The Group Reading Assessment and Diagnostic Evaluation. Circle Pines, MN: Author. Borich, G. D., & Tombari, M. L. (1997). Educational psychology: A contemporary approach (2nd ed). New York: Addison-Wisely Educational Publishers. Carroll, J. B. (1963). A model of school learning. Teachers College Record, 64, 723733. Children Educational Service (1987). Standard Reading Passages: Measures for screening and progress monitoring. Minneapolis, MN: Author.

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Clariana, R. B. (1999, February). Differential memory effects for immediate and delayed feedback: a delta rule explanation of feedback timing effects. Paper presented at the Association for Educational Communications and Technology Annual Convention, Houston, TX. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED43055) Eggen, P. & Kauchak, D. (2004). Educational psychology: Windows on classroom (6th ed). Columbus, OH: Prentice Hall. Epstein, M. L, & Brosvic, G. M. (2002). Immediate Feedback Assessment Technique: Multiple-choice test that "behaves" like an essay examination. Psychological Reports, 90(1), 226. Epstein, M. L., Lazarus, A. D., Calvano, T. B., Matthews, K. A., Hendel, R. A., Epstein, B. B., & Brosvic, G. M. (2002). Immediate Feedback Assessment Technique promotes learning and corrects inaccurate first responses. Psychological Record, 52(2), 187-201.

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Felmlee, D., & Eder, D. (1983). Contextual Effects in the Classroom: The Impact of Ability Groups on Student Attention. Sociology of Education, 56(2), 77-87. Gagne, R. M, & Driscoll, M. P. (1988). Essentials of learning for instruction (2nd ed). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Jurma, William E.; Froelich, & Deidre L. (1984). Effects of immediate instructor feedback on group discussion participants. Central States Speech Journal, 35(3), 178-86. McClenaghan, B. A; & Ward, D. S. (1987). Health and physical education. In Charles A. Maher & Susan G. Forman (Eds). A behavioral approach to education of children and youth (School Psychology Series) (pp. 131-151). Hillsdale, NJ: L. Erlbacem Association. Pound, L. D., & Bailey, G. D. (1975). Immediate feedback less effective than delayed feedback for contextual learning? Reading Improvement, 12(4), 222-24. Prather, D. C.; & Berry, G. A. (1973). Delayed versus immediate information feedback on a verbal learning task controlled for distribution of practice. Education, 93( 3), 230-2. Pressley, M. (1998). Reading instruction that works: The case for balanced teaching. NY: The Guilford Press. Reddy, W. B. (1969). Effects of immediate and delayed feedback on the learning of empathy. Journal Counseling Psychology, 16(1), 59-62. Renaissance Learning Inc. (2000). The Accelerated Reader Program (v5.12). Wisconsin Rapids, WI: Author. Renaissance Learning Inc. (1999). The Standardized Test of Assessment of Reading (version 2.0). Wisconsin Rapids, WI: Author. Skinner, B. F. (1969). Contingencies of reinforcement: A theoretical analysis. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Effect of Time Spent on Independent Reading Soli, S. D., & Devine, V. T. (1976). Behavioral correlates of achievements: A look at high and low achievers. Journal of Educational Psychology, 68, 335-341.

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Stanovich, K. (1986). Mathew effects in reading: Some consequences of individual differences in the acquisition of literacy. Reading Research Quarterly, 21(4), 360406. Thorndike, E. L. (1932). The fundamental of learning. New York: Teachers College Press. Woodcock, R. W. (1987). Woodcock Reading Mastery Tests-Revised. Circle Pines, MN: American Guiding Service. Zahorik, J. A. (1987). Reacting. In M. J. Dunkin (Ed.), International encyclopedia of teaching and teacher education (pp. 416-423). Oxford: Pergamon Press.

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Table 1 The Mean Gain Scores and SDs for Each Condition on Dependent Variables 3rd grade 15 minutes below at or above grade level grade level 25.60 17.06 (20.84) (12.51) 22.60 25.83 (30.47) (35.63) 38.30 16.17 (28.35) (29.73) 81.40 36.67 (72.48) (47.63) 87.40 107.50 (80.83) (86.25) 8.50 3.83 (7.32) (3.13) 10 6 5th grade 15 minutes below at or above grade level grade level 20.18 18.61 (13.53) (4.00) 23.62 29.00 (14.81) (39.62) 29.54 -4.33 (28.39) (27.70) 41.92 -1.83 (106.21) (71.35) 90.85 80.33 (160.75) (127.14) 3.54 7.83 (2.88) (4.45) 13 6

CBM MAT-7 reading comp score MAT-7 vocabulary score star_win-star_fal star_spr-star_fal wj_post-wj_pre N

40 minutes below at or above grade level grade level 35.56 39.93 (12.92) (10.70) 14.38 18.80 (20.73) (20.54) 15.46 59.20 (31.92) (14.31) 118.15 178.40 (63.02) (47.62) 120.69 194.60 (78.79) (57.46) 7.69 4.80 (4.61) (4.97) 13 5

40 minutes below at or above grade level grade level 18.19 10.60 (11.61) (21.67) 27.56 43.80 (17.78) (30.76) 19.89 17.70 (24.80) (20.33) 75.00 123.20 (99.43) (87.40) 87.00 179.90 (68.05) (101.46) 8.67 -1.80 (5.61) (7.05) 9 10

Note. The information presented in Tables 1 and 2 used below and at or above grade level to present the reading ability, but we used low ability group as below the grade level and high ability group as at or above grade level in the result section to present the result.

Effect of Time Spent on Independent Reading

25

Table 2 The Marginal Mean Gain Scores and SDs for Treatment, Grade, and Reading Level on Dependent Variables Time Spent on Reading 15 M CBM MAT-7 reading comp score MAT-7 vocabulary score star_winstar_fal star_sprstar_fal 20.92 SD 14.67 M 14.19 40 SD 17.60 M 30.01 3 SD 16.74 M 16.94 Grade 5 SD 14.84 Reading Ability Below grade level M SD 25.43 16.06 At or above grade level M SD 19.25 18.05

24.63

27.31

36.11

26.13

19.47

25.95

30.71

25.47

21.51

21.17

31.89

32.19

23.94 44.80

31.06 85.13 119.9 7

18.74 100.37

21.93 93.94

28.74 101.82

31.86 73.40

18.79 64.24

26.95 100.96

25.49 79.33

29.19 88.86

20.15 86.41

30.49 94.47

90.91

135.89

97.35

119.44

82.22

111.71

125.65

97.93

105.53

144.41

104.12

Woodcock Johnson Word 5.74 5.19 3.16 8.23 6.82 5.50 4.03 6.41 6.87 5.43 2.81 6.46 recognition N 35 37 34 38 45 27 Note. The information presented in Tables 1 and 2 used below and at or above grade level to present the reading ability, but we used low ability group as below the grade level and high ability group as at or above grade level in the result section to present the result.